Self-inflatable American football neck collar

ABSTRACT

There is no other self-inflatable football collar in the American football equipment market. Upon impact to the helmet, this collar is designed to catch in lower lip of the football helmet and transfer the force from the head and neck of the collar and shoulders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of endeavor of this invention is the American football protective equipment market. This collar is made to help reduce head, neck and spinal cord injuries in the game of football.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The previous and current problem playing the game of American football is that the helmet alone cannot protect the player from high impacts. This collar will reduce head, neck and spinal cord injuries by catching the lower edge of the football helmet and transferring the force from the head, neck and spinal cord to the collar and then to the shoulders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1A

A side view of the invention showing the contoured shape of the collar. The collar must be lower in the front and higher in the back to match the shape of the bottom edge of the football helmet. This view also shows the inflation hose, inflation bulb, and the toggle valve on the collar.

FIG. 1B

A top view of the collar showing the horseshoe shape of the invention and how it will fit around the neck.

FIG. 1C

A view of the top and bottom cut of material that makes up the invention. The top and bottom cuts are the same size and shape.

FIG. 1D

This FIGURE depicts the outside cut of material that connects the top and the bottom cuts. This piece wraps around the outer back and sides of the collar. This piece must be wider and longer than the inside cut of material to produce the higher and lower shape of the collar.

FIG. 1E

This FIGURE depicts the inside cut of material that connects the top and the bottom pieces on the inside. This piece is similar in shape to the outside cut of material except I it smaller in order to set the desired contoured shape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The self-inflatable football collar will be made of a heavy gauze nylon cover. This cover will incase an inflatable bladder. The bladder will have a small plastic hose that will come out of the side of the invention.

This hose will have a hard-plastic toggle valve that will open and close air flow thru the hose. There will be a Velcro flap that will cover the plastic valve for safety reasons.

There will also be a rubber bulb that can be inserted into the open end of the hose. Air is pumped into the bladder by squeezing the bulb.

The previous and current problems playing the game of American football is that the helmet alone cannot protect players from high impact forces to the head.

Because there is a large gap between the lower edge of the helmet and the shoulders, the helmet will be pushing down. This causes the force to be transferred from the helmet to the head, neck and spinal cord. This collar is designed to catch the lower edge of the helmet. This will keep the helmet from coming down and will transfer the force from the head to the collar and the shoulders.

In the protective equipment market for American football there is no inflatable collar at this time. Most of the other collars in this market are attached to the shoulder pads. They are not designed to catch the lower edge of the football helmet in an even manor. This will cause the helmet to rock forward or backward. These collars also still leave a gap between the helmet and shoulders. Because of this gap these collars depend on the player to shrug his shoulders upward to reduce the gap. My collar will catch the helmet quicker without the player needing to shrug their shoulders.

The reason this collar will be useful is it will reduce force to the head, neck and spinal cord, therefore reducing injuries.

In 2014 a study was done on six deaths caused from playing football. These were not deaths caused by players overheating or players with heart problems. The deaths were caused from high impacts while playing the game of football. All six deaths were caused from cervical fractures or broken necks. I honestly feel this collar could possibly have prevented these deaths. 

The claimed invention is:
 1. The invention is a self-inflatable football neck collar, designed specifically for use in the narrow scope of the American football equipment market.
 2. The invention is designed to be worn around the neck and catch the lower lip of the football helmet upon impact, which will transfer the force to the collar and then the shoulders. 